Many marketers don't realize the power of the hashtag on Instagram. They also don't realize the power of stories on Instagram. Put the two together, and you have a secret weapon for organic growth and highly improved engagement.

It’s a very simple strategy. Simply use the hashtag by type (#) then your topic of choice, into stories you are able to reach an entirely new audience quick and easily. All it takes is a little research and your audience will be growing in no time.

ALL YOU NEED TO DO

Every time you post an Instagram story you should add a generic hashtag to it. Keep it broad. Make sure to lay it over the video or the photo post. Then, all you need to do is watch the views (and follows) come rolling in. I have step-by-step instructions below!

1. RESEARCH HASHTAGS

The first step is finding the right hashtag to use. This means you should research one that will fit well with your story and have a large search volume. For example, #fitness will do better than #fitnesstips. Unlike with regular posts, you want broader hashtags for stories.

To help you find the high volume tags, use the "hashtag" feature in search.

I have included an example below.

2. CREATE YOUR STORY

Next is to make sure that your story is engaging. Time spent on your story will help determine how popular the content is and therefore how many people it will reach through your chosen hashtag.

Photos work; however, engaging video clips do very well - and increase time spent on page. You don't need ten of them either. A few a day is a perfect way to keep followers engaged without causing them to "swipe away".

3. ADD YOUR HASHTAG OF CHOICE TO YOUR STORY

Remember, it can be either a video or a photo. Just make sure it's engaging! You can setup the hashtag however you'd like, as long as it's present. It can be laid across the photo, hidden at the bottom of the photo, or used as a "sticker". There are a few examples of using Instagram stories in the images below.

4. CLICK "YOUR STORY"

Once you have compelling content and a hashtag in place, make sure to hit "Your Story" in the lower left hand corner.

5. WATCH TO SEE THE NUMBER OF VIEWS

The image below shows an example of stories and hashtags. As you can see, #fishing generated me with 139 extra views at the time. Those came from the Instagram stories "hashtag story". Those are people I haven't seen before.

I've had over 500 views from a hashtag story. These are people who didn't already follow me... AND they trickled into followers.

How nice is that?

6. ADJUST AS NECESSARY

If you are not generating extra traffic and followers from stories then you should consider changing two things:

Your Content

If your content isn't engaging and people don't spend time on it, it won't show up on the hashtag story. Try improving your content.

or

Your Hashtag (#)

If you use too specific of hashtags there won't be any viewer. Keep it general. For example, I use "fishing" instead of "fishingtips". One will produce more viewers than the other.

CONCLUSION

Instagram stories is a great way to gain the "trickle effect" of followers. By using the right hashtag you can get in front of a new audience that can convert into more followers. All you need to remember is to:

Post engaging content

Find volume hashtags

Post consistently

By doing this consistently; you'll not only help your story engagement, but also your follower count!